All posts tagged ‘RPGs’

Gygax Magazine will help “ensure the viability of tabletop gaming for future generations,” says publisher and creative director Jayson Elliot

Jayson Elliot has formed a company with a name that will tweak the nostalgia bones of many a gamer: TSR. And the first product TSR is launching isn’t a game or gaming product or rule book. It’s a magazine called Gygax Magazine.

The publication aims to revive the spirit of great gaming magazines such as Dragon, White Dwarf, Adventure Gaming, and Pegasus.

On Saturday, January 26, at 1:30pm, Gygax Magazine will be launched at a “unboxing party” at The Brooklyn Strategist (333 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY). Copies will officially go on sale at 2:00pm EST, with a broadcast of video coverage of the event streaming live at GygaxMagazine.com. Editors and writers will be on hand, and games will be played.

“TSR is a new company. … Credible people had to be involved..”

The magazine will feature content about tabletop gaming and the tabletop gaming community. The debut issue includes contributions from Cory Doctorow, Luke Gygax, Ernie Gygax, Dennis Sustare, Michael Tresca, Lenard Lakofka and many others. [Disclosure: It also features an article by yours truly.]

So what is the reason Elliot, the magazine’s publisher and creative director, is taking the risk to put out a new magazine about role-playing games, when you might argue it’s video games, not Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs, that are getting all the attention?

“The purpose of forming TSR, the reason for doing this, [and to] rescue the trademark and to start a magazine called Gygax, and using these terms that are obviously going to resonate with gamers, was because I wanted to ensure the viability of tabletop gaming for future generations,” Elliot said. “I wanted to look at how we play games today with all the new distractions that are available — from video games to IMAX films. What does that mean in the 21st century?”

Artist Casey Jex Smith, in front of a faux dungeon wall at the Allegra LaViola Gallery, as the Dungeon Master dressed in a cyclops mask and blue cape (Image: Jared Lindsay Clark)

Here at GeekDad, we’re not one to put much credence in hocus-pocus, dice-rolling, or other methods to prognosticate the future.

But as we reported here last week, an artist at the Allegra LaViola Gallery in New York City gallery staged a knock-down, drag-out, D&D smack-down between proxies for President Obama and Mitt Romney, and I have to admit I was hoping a certain candidate might win.

Would a victory in the D&D world give his campaign a boost — and possibly make up for his not-very-impressive debate performance? And could it help in the debate tonight?

Early on, gallery patrons “made attacks against their candidate of choice,” rolling a d20 to hit and a d4 for damage. “I made everyone 1st or 2nd level characters so they had to roll an 18-20 to hit. So most hits were misses,” he said. “If they rolled from 14-8, they died and I, in DM style, told them of their gruesome death. If they rolled a 7-1, I explained how their death was not only gruesome, but humiliating. Those were fun.” Most patrons, he said, “attacked Mitt.”

By 7:15 or so, Mitt had been knocked down from 159 hit points to around 120. Obama was down from 91 to about 80 hit points.

Then Smith donned a cyclops mask and blue velvet cape. He called forth “two worthy souls to stand in proxy for Lord Spelldyal and King Belian.” Two people stepped forward. In a prerecorded, deep and malevolent voice, he had them drink from two potions so that their “bowels would be cleansed” and their “minds enlightened.”

They were then given a sword and a pyramid, and told to insert them into two pedestals. The sword lit up with a strobe light as a thunderous sound issued forth. When the pyramid was inserted, smoke spewed from a smoke machine. The two put on Romney and Obama masks. Smith told them they were “ready to battle and roll unto the deathTTTHHHH!!!!!”

The mysterious sword and pyramid (Image: Jared Lindsay Clark)

The two contestants rolled giant d20s into a box that resembled a craps table. Obama used a d12 for damage and Mitt a d10. Then came the climactic moment: “The hits went back and forth until Mitt had 10 hit points and Obama had 20,” Smith said. The final roll took Mitt to -1 hit points. Smith pronounced King Belian the victor and finished saying “My vote binds the future.”

“People were pretty happy Obama won,” Smith concluded. “I was a little sad because Mitt was my flawed protagonist. But happy that people were happy. I will take my cyclops mask into the voting booth in November and take a photo of my vote for Obama.”

Let’s hope the candidate of your choice musters a little magic, and muscle, for the next debate.

The show’s opening reception, Wednesday, October 10th, from 6-8 pm, will feature a live performance — a battle, at it were, with dice.

“Two volunteers will take up the roles of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney and audience members will get to decide the fate of the election using Dungeons and Dragons dice, rules and attacks,” said the gallery. “Smith will act as Dungeon Master of the game, and the ultimate prize is his vote.”

The winner of the battle determines how Smith casts his actual ballot in his swing-state home of Ohio. (Note: It’s Smith who will cast his own vote for the winner of the game, be it Obama or Romney. Nobody will vote FOR him. That would be voter fraud.)

“Romney is a fighter. Obama is a Sorcerer,” said Casey Jex Smith in an email. “I will have to dumb down the rules a little so the battle is fast and furious. Romney will have a better thaco but do less damage. Obama will have worse thaco but do massive damage. It will essentially be all D20s and D6s.”

President Obama as slightly demented-looking “King Belian Shipsale.” The name comes from Wizards of the Coast’s random character name generator. (Image: Casey Jex Smith/Allegra LaViola Gallery)

“Using the world of sci-fi/fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, and Mormon imagery as a springboard for exploration,” said gallery director Allegra LaViola, “Smith has created a world where Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are not just candidates in a race, but also but also mythical heroes in an imagined world.” Smith is a practicing Mormon, who identifies with Romney –”an unusual stance in the arts community.”

I asked Smith about his idea behind this show, which includes several characters sheets and other gaming-inspired works (and many works without any explicit gaming references). Why did he turn Obama and Romney into D&D characters?

“Ramparts” (Image: Casey Jex Smith/Allegra LaViola Gallery)

“I had already done portraits of them as well as John McCain back in the 2008 election. I did a series of male power figures that had an influence on me at the time,” Smith said. “I wanted to elevate these figures into mythical heroes through the lens of a language that I loved and was well versed in. The statistics allowed me to say more about the figures in a way that a traditional portrait wasn’t able to do. When this year came around, I decided to update the portraits and then create a narrative around their election year battles. My interest in Romney comes from my being a Mormon and watching this ‘Mormon Moment’ happen with some pride and trepidation.”

Smith is, essentially, giving away his vote. I wondered, did this decision represent his ambivalence about the election?

“I have put some serious thought into the idea. I don’t give up my vote lightly,” he said. “But would it be awful to say that I honestly think either candidate will do an OK job?”

Smith said he voted for Obama in the last election because “I was disgusted with the Republican party.” But lately, he felt the spirit of his late father “haunting” him and “prodding” him to vote for a conservative candidate. “I prefer the moderate Romney. I’m on the fence. Undecided,” he said. “So being undecided I don’t have a problem giving up my vote.”

This is Smith’s third solo show at the gallery, LaViola said, and one where he decided to “take on religion and politics.” As a practicing Mormon, Smith has an interest in religion, and this election cycle, Mormonism has been headline news. Instead of remaining silent about his relationship with his church, Smith has “come out with all guns blazing,” LaViola said. ”Smith’s incorporation of religion, fantasy and art history is both unique and unusual.”

Smith’s work includes “exquisitely rendered,” highly-detailed drawings (often ink on paper). The show also includes sculpture and mixed media works in pencil, color pencil and collage. Casey Jex Smith lives and works in Ohio. He holds a BFA from Brigham Young University and an MFA from The San Francisco Art Institute. He has shown his work at the Drawing Center, Yerba Buena Center of the Arts, and Swarm Gallery, Oakland. His work has been reviewed on artnet.com, Beautiful Decay, Time Out Chicago, and Fecalface.

[Incidentally, in the show, Smith was kind enough to include a work with a subtle shout-out to this blogger. In the below character sheet featuring the likeness of Vin Diesel, Smith outfitted the 14th level fighter named "Divleesin Banesguard" with "Gilsdorf's Studded Leather of Criticality +3." "I was reading and enjoying your book at the time I drew his portrait," Casey told me. "Your book meant a lot to me at the time so I felt like a shout out was necessary." Thank you, Casey. I have arrived.]

Our D&D group has been playing together for almost three years, and one of the hardest things for all of us is scratching the itch between Wednesday sessions. We’ve tried a lot of solutions over the years, mostly in the realm of text-based asynchronous forum style. But it’s usually hard for us to keep track and, more often than not, I’m the one who falls off the map by virtue of simply forgetting. Kind of amusing considering my first foray in to RPGs of any sort was text-based.

Anyway, when Michael (my husband and fellow GeekDad) told the group about Conclave by 10 x 10 Room, a web-based visual approach to asynchronous RPGs, my interest was piqued. Extra bonus? It works from any web capable device. Particularly appealing since I’m pretty busy these days with a four month old and six year old, and sitting down at the computer for any duration (especially reliably) is hard to come by.

My first impression was not surprising. I’m a visual person, and I was really impressed by the art in the game–it got me excited to play right away. They’re allowing beta play during the Kickstarter, and I really wasn’t expecting too much. It’s rare that you get a chance to play a game before the fundraising is over, and in this case it really helped us, as a group, see how great a tool it is. Having that extra visual edge made a huge difference for me initially, but it’s really the feeling of Conclave that’s got me signing in again and again.

They market it as tabletop for the web, and it really is that. With a chat window, top-notch art, great storytelling, and a satisfying upgrade/purchasing system, it combines all the best things about D&D that I love in a place I can access any time, any place. It even works great on my iPhone. What’s also nice is that there’s no need for a DM–the game actually runs itself, and the players all get to vote on partial outcomes. So it’s a little “choose your own adventure” in that sense, but in a very satisfying way.

I also enjoy the mythos, races, and story-lines. While there’s still a bit of pillaging from the canon (as we’d expect) there are enough derivations that make it fun and feel separate. It’s not simple stock fantasy with a Dragonlance-esque lineup. Personally, I’m playing a nix runecaster, which I find no end of fun.

Image by 10 x 10 Room – The Nix race, and a look at the art

The game is great on its own, but as Michael pointed out, it’s the sort of thing you wish Wizards of the Coast would straight out buy (and make these guys a pretty penny) to integrate with their intellectual properties. It would work wonderfully when party members move away or can’t attend, and could even supplement a regular tabletop campaign for some workweek gameplay. Another thing we’d love to see is total player customization, to run our own campaigns. It could, in that way, be the virtual tabletop WoTC has promised. The framework is already there!

The game is currently finishing up their Kickstarter, and they could use some extra backers to make their goal. They have some really cool stretch goals, but the proof is really in the lembas, as they say. Go and try it out yourself! It’s clear that the game is a labor of love, and they certainly deserve to see it come to fruition. If you’ve already played and like the game, please shout it out, let others know.

Want to help tell the untold story of D&D? Support a documentary film’s Kickstarter campaign (Image: Iconoscope Films/Westpaw Films)

In a previous post, we heard about the filmmakers behind Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary, which just debuted an except from their documentary at Gen Con. As a result of the screening, I’m told, there’s a fair amount of buzz about the movie which aims to tell the true, comprehensive and untold story of Dungeons & Dragons — both as a cultural phenomenon as well as its impact on the world of nerddom, video games, and the world at large.

D&D is, the filmmakers claim, “arguably the most influential game in history.”

“We love this game and the people that we’ve met while shooting it,” says the trio of filmmakers — Andrew Pascal, Anthony Savini, and James Sprattley, all veterans of New York City and Los Angeles film and television productions.

“They deserve our best efforts to create something really special. And you, our audience, also deserve something special, to know the story of D&D. A story that needs to be told so that people know how important Dungeons & Dragons has been in our culture. That’s why we’ve set out to create a definitive look at Dungeons & Dragons. And we need a lot of help.”

Their Kickstarter appeal goes on to say: “We’ve already shot hours of footage and spent the better part of a year putting this project together. It’s been an amazing experience. But we’ve done all that we can and spent as much as we can afford. We still have a long, challenging road ahead of us.”

They’re trying to raise $150,000, and at press time, they are about one-fifth of the way there, with just under three weeks to go.

What busy gamemaster doesn’t want a repository of story ideas at hand, just in case inspiration is late to the gaming session? If you’re a parent and the GM, then it’s even more likely that you’ll find your gaming group staring you down, waiting for their weekly dose of escapism. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a book that could jumpstart your game and get you headed down the road toward RPG rapture?

The Tome of Ideas, a collaboration between writer and developer Michael J. Winegar and over 20 professional authors, hopes to be that repository. The book, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, is a collection of story prompts, adventure outlines, and full color artwork. From the Kickstarter page:

Tome of Ideas is part genre encyclopedia, part RPG book, part writing prompt collection, and part inspirational art book. It is designed as a resource for writers looking for their next story, game masters looking for their next adventure, or anyone who simply wants to sit down and send their imagination on a journey into speculative fiction.

The idea of a “book of plots” isn’t a new one. We’ve taken multiple looks at Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters. I was a huge fan of Dungeon Delve, which was heavily geared toward the tactical combat encounters of the 4th Edition D&D system, but was a boon for unprepared DMs. The Tome of Ideas is unique in that it explores over ten different gaming and fiction genres, including fantasy, horror, mystery, science fiction, and even modern stories.

Last August I spotlighted a Kickstarter from Minneapolis-based independent design studio Prolific Games. Prolific was looking for a little community support to help print a second edition of their lighthearted tabletop title Flapjacks & Sasquatches. The internet stepped up, and the new and improved Flapjacks & Sasquatches with a Side of Bacon is now a reality.

I enjoyed the original version, and this updated second-generation game does not disappoint. Thus, when John Harris – Prolific Games’ self-described Lord of All He Surveys (Mid-West Division) – contacted me about another Kickstarter, I was more than willing to check it out.

Hirelings: The Ascent is a different kind of family gaming experience. Rather than focus on the brave and steadfast heroes of traditional fantasy lore, Hirelings picks up where those other tales leaves off; after these brave adventurers suffer a grisly, crispy death at the hands of a great dragon, players find themselves in the roles of the remaining hapless lackeys. Less a bold grab for fortune or glory and more a frantic race back to the cave’s entrance, Hirelings: The Ascent is an enchanting mash-up of Dungeons & Dragons and Candy Land.

Rather than combat, the game focuses exclusively on movement. From the starting point (the dragon’s lair), players roll a single D6 in turn and proceed the appropriate number of spaces. Rolls can be supplemented by buffs played from a blind deck of eight cards, but this deck is difficult to supplement so these options are both random and sorely limited. In addition to movement cards the deck also contains evade buffs which come into play when players happen across a waiting monster. Evasion encounters are settled with the roll of a D8 plus by any relevant in-play card bonus.

There are additional minor mechanics – such as the ability to steal an opponent’s cards and an optional rule concerning a pursuing fireball – but the true beauty of Hirelings is in its simplicity. If your geeklings can do basic addition and understand the concept of taking a longer but safer route versus a shorter but more challenging one, Hirelings: The Ascent is truly a game for the entire family.

You too can get in on this epic dungeon crawl escape by contributing to Prolific’s latest Kickstarter. With exclusive cards, bonus characters and promotional tees available for both kids and adults, the incentive rewards look to be as fun as the game itself. Check out the Kickstarter video:

Many of us have either direct or indirect memories of and associations with Gary.

As a kid, I was entranced by this mythical place, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and this company called TSR. To my adolescent mind, TSR was a mysterious entity and Lake Geneva an unimaginable land, both as distant as Middle-earth. And the name “Gygax” seemed as odd and wonderful as my own (“Gilsdorf”). Was this man, with his gray ponytail and beard in his latter years, a wizard?

The sale of these books with new, throwback covers but identical guts to the original tomes supports the Gygax Memorial Fund, which is trying to get a memorial to Gygax built in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, as well as help cement the legacy of Gygax’s impact on the gaming world.

According to the Gygax Memoiral Fund, “Wizards of the Coast has meticulously reprinted every interior detail of the original 3 core rulebooks for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and bound them in attractive NEW commemorative covers. This limited-edition book honors the memory and work of Gary and your purchase will help support the Gygax Memorial Fund. Ask your local game or bookstore retailer for your copy this Tuesday.”

(When the books will be available on Amazon or other online retailers is unclear. The Gygax Memorial Fund says, “It appears that Amazon will be selling the books towards the end of July.” Also uncertain is whether the books can be purchased overseas.)

One way to show your support of D&D, AD&D and Gygax is by buying these books. Or you can make a direct contribution to the Fund here.

Enjoy some retro-geeking out. And may your encounters with goblins, bags of holding and random harlots be good ones.

I don’t get to play Dungeons & Dragons as much as I’d like (I know: Who does?), so I look forward to Wednesday nights, when I drive to my Friendly Local Bookstore for a few hours of D&D Encounters.

Since the current adventure has our party tangled in the Underdark-based Web of the Spider Queen, it seems appropriate to scratch the RPG itch between sessions with Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast provided GeekDad with a copy for review.)

Into the Unknown is divided into three chapters – Dungeon Delvers, Strive to Survive and Master of the Dungeon.